Results from Test Project

Fall 2023

[1] TRUE

[1] TRUE

Farm 138

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Soil Health

Soil health is a term that describes how well a soil ecosystem supports plants, animals, and humans. It also recognizes the living nature of soils and the importance of soil microorganisms. Healthy soils can provide wildlife habitat, support biodiversity, reduce the effects of climate change, filter air and water, increase crop productivity and food security, and ensure thriving rural economies.

Qualities of a Healthy Agricultural Soil

• Good soil tilth allows roots to penetrate
• Near neutral pH (6–8) maximizes nutrient availability for most crops, and minimizes Al and Mn toxicity
• Sufficient—but not excessive—nutrient supply for crop growth
• Small population of plant pathogens and pests
• Adequate soil drainage and infiltration
• Diverse and active microbial population
• Low weed seed bank
• No residual chemicals or toxins that may harm the crop, including salts
• Resistance to degradation such as from erosion or surface runoff

Soil Science 101

A crucial part of the soil health journey is measuring changes in your soil and understanding how to interpret those measurements. We can measure soil health with a range of indicators describing a soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties, which can relate to important soil functions. Each indicator measures a different property of the soil and can be affected differently by management.

To learn more about management practices that support healthy soil, check out these resources from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) principles of building soil health.

What We Measured in Your Soil

Biological

ACE Soil Protein is the fraction of SOM comprised of proteins from soil microorganisms. Proteins contain nitrogen that can be mineralized for plant uptake, and are therefore an important contributor to crop growth. ACE stands for autoclaved citrate-extractable, which is the laboratory method for extracting the proteins. ACE soil protein is related to aggregate stability as it partly measures proteins that are physically sticky and hold soil particles together. ACE is also sensitive to management changes, so can be a valuable indicator for evaluating relatively short-term changes in soil health.

Chemical

Electrical Conductivity (EC) measures the concentration of salts in the soil. Excessive salts can stress plants and lower crop yield and quality, as well as impact soil structure, infiltration rates, and water holding capacity. In particular, sodium (Na) can cause crusting and dispersion of soil particles, leading to surface runoff and erosion. Crops in sodium-affected soils (sodic soils) may also have challenges taking up other essential salts such as Ca, Mg, and K.

Physical

Aggregate Stability measures the resistance of groups of soil particles, or aggregates, to disintegration. Aggregates are formed when soil particles associate with organic matter, plant roots, fungal hyphae, and “glues” made by soil microorganisms. Water and wind can break down unstable aggregates, while stable aggregates can reduce erosion and increase water infiltration, drainage, and storage capacity. Aggregate stability is an excellent example of how biological life impacts soil physical properties. Soils high in clay tend to have higher aggregate stability than sandy soils, but increasing soil organic matter improves aggregate stability across all soil textures.

Soil Health Indicators

The below table describes: 1. What each indicator helps measure in your soil; 2. Whether you want the measured value to be higher (more is better), lower (less is better), or in the middle (optimal range); and 3. How often to measure each indicator. Our understanding of these indicators is rapidly evolving as researchers measure them in diverse soils, cropping systems, and climates.

Soil Health Indicator	Soil Function	Scoring Curve Type
Measure every: 1-3 years
ACE Soil Protein	Nutrient cycling, biodiversity & habitat, filtering & resilience	More is better
Aggregate Stability	Physical support, water relations, biodiversity & habitat, filtering & resilience	More is better
Electrical Conductivity (EC)	Physical support, nutrient cycling, filtering & resilience	Less is better
Mineralizable Carbon	Nutrient cycling, biodiversity & habitat, filtering & resilience	More is better
Permanganate Oxidizable Carbon (POXC)	Biodiversity & habitat, nutrient cycling, filtering & resilience	More is better
Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen (PMN)	Nutrient cycling, biodiversity & habitat, filtering & resilience	More is better
Soil pH	Nutrient cycling, filtering & resilience	Optimal range
Total Nitrogen	Nutrient cycling, biodiversity & habitat, filtering & resilience	Optimal range
Plant Essential Nutrients	Nutrient cycling	Optimal range
Measure every: 3-5 years
Bulk Density	Physical support, water relations, biodiversity & habitat, filtering & resilience	Optimal range
Cation Exchange Capacity	Nutrient cycling, filtering & resilience	More is better
Infiltration	Water relations, physical support	More is better
Soil Organic Matter (SOM)	Nutrient cycling, filtering & resilience	More is better
Water Holding Capacity (WHC)	Water relations, physical support	More is better

Soil Health Testing

Your Fields

Sample ID	Field ID	Field Name	Crop	Longitude	Latitude
23-AWK04-02	2	Field 02	Cereal Grain	-123	47

Project Results

Below are tables and graphs describing the physical, biological, and chemical measurements from your soils. Each point represents a sample we collected. Take a look to see how your fields compare to others in the project. All samples were collected from [EDIT: SOIL DEPTH (e.g. 0-6 inches, or 0-30 cm)].

Physical

Field or Average	Texture	Sand	Silt	Clay	Bulk Density	Agg. Stability	WHC
		%			g/cm³	%	in/ft
Field 02	Loam	50	40	10	0.81	90	1.6
Cereal Grain Average (7 Fields)	Silt Loam	42	43	15	1.20	84	2.0
County 7 Average (6 Fields)	Silt Loam	36	48	16	0.95	94	1.9
Project Average (100 Fields)	Silt Loam	43	43	14	1.10	90	1.7
Values ≥ project average have darker backgrounds. Values < project average have lighter backgrounds.

Biological

Field or Average	Organic Matter	Min C	POXC	PMN	ACE Protein
	%	mg/kg/day	ppm	lb/ac	g/kg
Field 02	13.0	62	720	100	12.0
Cereal Grain Average (7 Fields)	4.7	40	400	75	7.3
County 7 Average (6 Fields)	10.0	70	730	180	7.9
Project Average (100 Fields)	5.8	50	530	99	8.5
Values ≥ project average have darker backgrounds. Values < project average have lighter backgrounds.

Chemical

Field or Average	pH	EC	CEC	Total C	TOC
		mmhos/cm	cmolc/kg	%
Field 02	5.4	0.29	28	7.5	7.5
Cereal Grain Average (7 Fields)	5.7	0.41	14	2.5	2.5
County 7 Average (6 Fields)	5.6	0.25	23	5.3	5.3
Project Average (100 Fields)	6.1	0.74	15	2.9	2.9
Values ≥ project average have darker backgrounds. Values < project average have lighter backgrounds.

Plant Essential Macro Nutrients

Field or Average	Total N	NO₃-N	NH₄-N	P	K	Ca	Mg	S
	%	ppm
Field 02	0.44	29	7.3	27	340	740	97	120
Cereal Grain Average (7 Fields)	0.18	12	10.0	28	350	1,900	250	23
County 7 Average (6 Fields)	0.36	15	12.0	26	390	2,500	410	54
Project Average (100 Fields)	0.21	17	9.0	41	330	2,100	350	24
Values ≥ project average have darker backgrounds. Values < project average have lighter backgrounds.

Plant Essential Micro Nutrients

Field or Average	B	Fe	Mn	Cu	Zn	Na
	ppm
Field 02	0.21	65	13.0	2.8	1.6	23
Cereal Grain Average (7 Fields)	0.25	65	12.0	1.8	1.1	24
County 7 Average (6 Fields)	0.34	110	11.0	3.1	3.0	32
Project Average (100 Fields)	0.39	94	8.5	2.1	3.8	48
Values ≥ project average have darker backgrounds. Values < project average have lighter backgrounds.

Download your data

Looking Forward

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Acknowledgement

This report was generated using the {soils} R package. {soils} was developed by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and Washington State University, as part of the Washington Soil Health Initiative. Text and figures were adapted from WSU Extension publication #FS378E Soil Health in Washington Vineyards. Learn more about {soils} in this blog post or this webinar.